Help Please!!! Auto Accident

Help Please!!! Auto Accident

Ok on Jan 7th I was involved in an accident while traveling south through town at the posted speed limit of 45mph. It was a clear day with dry road conditions. The accident occured at 4:59 pm so it was also still daylight. The accident report claimed I had no contributing factor in the accident and that the other driver, who came from the median trying to get into a parking lot on the other side of 2 lanes of traffic and a turning lane had failed to yield to the right of way. It also stated that his view was blocked by a car in the turning lane. he crossed 25-50 ft in front of me and as soon as I saw him i hit the breaks and slid into the right rear of his truck. In the impact his bumper went up into my engine compartment and done damage to his bumper.

I only had liabilility coverage on my car so, I filed a claim with his insurance carrier and the same day recieved a phone call telling me the claim was being denied due to the damage to his bumper indicated I could have turned at the last moment. ( the crash 2 about 2 seconds from hitting the breaks to hitting his truck.) And that showed contributory negligence on my part.

So when I recieved the denial letter it states i was 80% at fault in the accident and that this barred me from collecting for my damages. I have called asking to talk to the adjusters supervisor and had to leave a message on his voicemail. Still no call back..

I have not been able to even get a lawyer to talk to me about it as there were no injuries. His insurer's investigator completely disreguarded the police report and made a statement that due to both drivers (innatentiveness in backing) not sure where this came from or what it means since we were both going forward.

My question is this. What is my possible recourse with this situation?

Re: Help Please!!! Auto Accident

You sue the other driver for your damages. He turns over the law suit to his insurance company.

A court, not the police, not you, not him, and not his insurance company ultimately gets to decide who was at fault, if you do not settle before trial.

If your damages are within the small claims limit for your state, then you would not need an attorney.

I am not going to comment upon who was with or without fault. The police report will be regarded as hearsay in court and not be admitted into evidence, in all likelihood (even in small claims). If you appear before a judge, it will be your testimony versus the other's driver's testimony (in all likelihood). No way to predict the decision from here.

Re: Help Please!!! Auto Accident

What you have to understand is that the other driver's insurance company is not your insurance company and owes you nothing unless and until a court of law finds the other driver responsible and says how much.

Re: Help Please!!! Auto Accident

Thanks for the quick replies I have to admit I have found myself completely in the dark on this situation. Due to recent financial problems this is the first time I have ever been without collision insurance. My insurance company was no help once they realized that they had nothing in it they more or less just brushed me off. So I was not sure how to proceed. Any advise on how not to walk into a small claims suit looking like an idiot...

Re: Help Please!!! Auto Accident

From what I read ,the AL small claims court limit is $3,000. You first will need to quantify your damages, which means you probably need to get your car fixed. If you can't afford to get it fixed, you do need to understand that you likely will need to have someone from the autobody shop testify in person about the damage to your vehicle. Although small claims court is relatively informal, just presenting three written estimates likely will not be good enough because pieces of paper cannot be cross-examined.

I suggest you visit your county small claims court website as forms and instructions likely will be available there. You will have to serve the summons and complaint on the other driver. He or she should then turn it over to their insurance company.

Even if you ultimately drop the small claims court case, this action should escalate your demand to a level at the insurance company that is above whomever you are now dealing with. You may be able to reach a settlement that you can live with. At the very least, you may get better explanations than the ones you are getting over the phone.

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